‘Lives and sails again’

The Lunenburgh’s Historic Model Ship Co. made headlines in July for its misspelling of the iconic South Shore town’s name and the fact that the company was hawking less-than-accurate, made-in-China models of Nova Scotia’s famous sailing vessel Bluenose.

The real deal — which is set to be eased into Lunenburg harbour this morning following an extensive two-year restoration — is the very antithesis of the packaged models, which the Atlantic Superstore was selling for $29.99 each.

And it’s not just the obvious matter of physical and financial scale — the restoration of the 43-metre Bluenose II will have cost provincial taxpayers at least $15.9 million, which is more than $1 million over the original estimate of $14.8 million.

It’s a matter of foreign mass production versus painstaking native craftsmanship. As China epitomizes cheap mass-produced goods of all kinds, Nova Scotia’s South Shore epitomizes the careful business of building and reconditioning wooden vessels.

The deliberate and detailed work that went into restoring the Bluenose II is arguably just as much a reason for celebration as the fact that the vessel is set to resume her work as Nova Scotia’s sailing ambassador.

Not that the restored Bluenose II is the same boat that was launched by the brewing Oland family on July 24, 1963; nor is she an exact replica of the original Bluenose, which was launched on March 26, 1921, and subsequently became famous for her dual roles of a winning racing ship and a hardworking Grand Banks fishing boat under the command of the indomitable Capt. Angus Walters.

Those who restore old boats, cars and buildings — which are meant to be used — are engaged in a constant balancing act between maintaining authenticity and utilizing modern materials and techniques for relatively greater durability and safety.

The hard-hatted, safety-booted carpenter featured in Steve Wadden’s front-page photo on Wednesday was installing what appeared to be machine-milled cedar shingles on the roof of Delort House at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. The shingles look authentic, but wouldn’t the original buildings have been sheathed in hand-split spruce or larch shakes?

Indeed, it’s reassuring that the craftspeople who worked on the Bluenose II used some contemporary materials and techniques — as seamlessly as possible. That indicates a living, evolving industry based on old, even ancient, skills.

“A number of the shipwrights who have worked on this project, their forefathers had worked on the original Bluenose and Bluenose II,” Alan Hutchinson, a director of the consortium that rebuilt Bluenose II, told the Canadian Press. “In many cases, we had the third generation working on this project. The skills had been passed down over the years.”

The plan is to ease the restored Bluenose II very slowly into Lunenburg harbour this morning. That will lack the drama of the launches of the original Bluenose in 1921 and the Bluenose II in 1963, both of which were fast, involved big splashes, and were captured on film.

But it’s not how fast she enters the harbour that counts, so much as how fast she is when she leaves the harbour. And given the skills inherited and refined by the South Shore shipwrights, that should be a pretty good clip.